Probably not going to do distant worlds. Too busy doing other stuff.
Don't worry about small ships - there has been a big update in Ch.4 upgrade. You can now explore or mine. Both are lucrative. I have gone from having a balance of Cr75m to Cr1bn

Just got to rank up and buy a Fed Corvette now before the Aliens get here.

“I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.”